Scottish Executive

Asylum Seekers

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children of asylum seekers are being educated in the state sector.

Nicol Stephen: The number of pupils being educated in publicly funded schools in Scotland is collected in the annual School Census conducted in September. However, information on the number of pupils in schools who were asylum seekers has not been previously collected in the census.

  Information on the number of pupils in publicly funded schools who are asylum seekers was collected for the first time in the School Census during September 2002.

  Results from the September 2002 School Census should become available in spring 2003.

Asylum Seekers

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any assessment has been made of the educational performance of asylum seekers’ children that attend state schools.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive has not made any assessment of the educational performance of asylum seekers’ children in state schools.

  Information on individual pupils in publicly funded schools who are asylum seekers is being collected for the first time in the 2002 Scottish Schools Census.

  Over the coming years, the information collected will help us gain a better understanding of the needs of specific groups of pupils and how best to target resources to address those needs.

Asylum Seekers

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any assessment has been made of any benefits to state schools of having the children of asylum seekers form part of the school roll.

Nicol Stephen: No formal assessment has been made by the Scottish Executive of any benefits to state schools of having the children of asylum seekers form part of the school roll.

British-Irish Council

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will report on the outcome of the British-Irish Council summit held at New Lanark on 22 November 2002.

Mr Jack McConnell: On 22 November, Scotland hosted the fourth British-Irish Council summit meeting in New Lanark. The main role of the council is "to promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of relationships among the people of these islands".

  The main focus of the summit meeting was social inclusion, on which Scotland, jointly with Wales, takes the lead in the council.

  As part of preparatory work for the summit, the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government hosted a conference on financial inclusion for practitioners and policy-makers in September of this year in Glasgow. The summit itself enabled council members to exchange views on this important issue.

  The council agreed that future work on financial inclusion would include promoting best practice by creating further opportunities for practitioners and policy makers to share ideas and information. This will include the identification and promotion of practical measures at the community level to promote access to appropriate financial products and encourage savings, for example, through credit unions. In addition, the council agreed to exchange information about the promotion of financial literacy and the provision of money advice. Given the importance of the role played by intermediary organisations in financial inclusion, including those based in the community, the council agreed to exchange experience among members on how such organisations could best be supported.

  As with previous summits, the meeting also received progress reports and agreed a plan for future work on the other subjects being taken forward by council members – in this case on co-operation on drugs; environment; health: the application of telemedicine; the knowledge economy; minority and lesser used languages; tourism, and transport.

  I am placing a copy of the Communiqué issued by the British-Irish Council after the summit meeting in New Lanark in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 25384).

Cancer

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce a requirement for oncologists to undertake training and placements in hospices.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The Scottish Executive has no role in determining the training requirements of oncologists as these are set nationally by the Specialist Training Authority.

  The Specialist Training Authority is the UK competent authority and works in partnership with the relevant Royal College in setting the required standard of training for all doctors.

Care of Elderly People

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to reduce the proportion of older people on low incomes in Renfrewshire since 1997.

Ms Margaret Curran: Since 1997, older people on low incomes in Renfrewshire have benefited from the combined effect of UK Government increases to the Basic State Retirement Pension, the introduction of the Minimum Income Guarantee, and the Winter Fuel Payment. In addition, a range of initiatives will help with levels of disposable income, including free off-peak bus travel, the Warm Deal, and the central heating programme, which is saving an average of £550 on bills.

Careers Scotland

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Inclusiveness Projects there are in Renfrewshire and how much funding has been allocated to each project.

Iain Gray: There is one Careers Scotland Inclusiveness Project covering the Renfrewshire area. It has been allocated £1.2 million over the period April 2001 to March 2004

Child Care

Mr Tom McCabe (Hamilton South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place with local enterprise companies regarding improvements to the provision of child care.

Cathy Jamieson: In July this year Iain Gray and I issued a joint letter to the Chairs of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, outlining the key role that local enterprise companies could play in developing the Child Care Strategy, and asking for their support in engaging the enterprise network in the strategy.

  Following this letter, the Executive organised a seminar on the 19 November for the local enterprise companies to meet with Child Care Partnerships as an opportunity to build links and to share examples of good practice. The event also saw the launch of a Guide to LEC Involvement in the Development of the Child Care Sector. The guide is the result of an Executive-funded research project and is designed to raise awareness of what assistance local enterprise companies can offer the childcare sector.

  The Executive is planning a further event next year, which will be aimed at employers

Child Care

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £0/10/10 million to help fund child care provision in disadvantaged areas, as referred to in Building a Better Scotland: Spending Proposals 2003-2006: What the money buys , will be allocated to Renfrewshire in each year and to what projects.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive is currently developing the details of the operation of this new funding. I shall make an announcement in due course.

Child Welfare

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of households with children have been in temporary accommodation in the Renfrewshire Council area in each year since 1997.

Ms Margaret Curran: Information on households with children in temporary accommodation has been collected centrally since June 2000. Information is available on the position (numbers and proportions) within each local authority area at the end of June, September, December and March each year since 2000. This information has been published in various Scottish Executive Statistical Bulletins/Statistics Releases, as shown in the following list and are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre:

  


Period 
  

Table No. 
  

Bulletin Ref. No. 
  

Publication Date 
  

Bib. Number 
  



June 2000 to March 2001 
  

22 
  

HSG/2001/4 
  

27 September 2001 
  

16396 
  



June 2001 
  

28 
  

HSG/2001/6 
  

18 December 2001 
  

18220 
  



September 2001 
  

23 
  

HSG/2002/1 
  

26 March 2002 
  

20348 
  



December 01 and March 2002 
  

13 
  

Stats Release 
  

24 September 2002 
  

24382

Children and Young People

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what reduction in the proportion of children living in (a) workless and (b) low-income households in the Renfrewshire Council area there has been since 1996.

Ms Margaret Curran: Statistics on the number of children in workless households in Scotland come from the Office for National Statistics’ Labour Force Survey (LFS). Disaggregation by local authority is not available at present.

  Estimates of persons in low income households come from the Department for Work and Pensions’ Households Below Average Income (HBAI) analysis. The sample size in HBAI is not large enough to allow analysis below Scotland level.

Children and Young People

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to improve the health of young people through reductions in (a) smoking by 12- to 15-year-olds, (b) the incidence of teenage pregnancy among 13- to 15-year-olds and (c) the rate of suicides among young people in the Renfrewshire Council area in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive has no initiatives directed specifically at the Renfrewshire Council area. Over the whole of Scotland, we have taken the following action:

  (a) On smoking:

  Following publication of the White Paper Smoking Kills in 1998 in which young people were identified as a priority group for action, Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS) has been allocated an additional £3.4 million over three years (2001-04) from the Health Improvement Fund to target young people and smoking. This is in addition to their current anti-smoking budget.

  Since 1997 HEBS has promoted non-smoking messages to young people, including 12- to 15-year-olds through their highly successful Think About It mass media campaign.

  In addition, within the schools sector, the 5-14 Health Education Guidelines developed in conjunction with HEBS address the issue of tobacco education, while the Health Promoting Schools approach focuses on the development of smoking policies in local authorities which includes schools.

  The Argyle and Clyde NHS Board appointed a Tobacco Co-ordinator in February 2000, overseeing a range of cessation services.

  (b) On teenage pregnancy:

  A Headline Target was set in the White Paper Towards a Healthier Scotland published in February 1999 of a 20% reduction in the rate of pregnancy among 13- to 15-year-olds for the period 1995-2010.

  In November 2000, the £3 million Healthy Respect project, one of four National Health Demonstration Projects which were proposed in the White Paper, was launched in Lothian and is still running. It aims to radically transform teenage attitudes to sexual health and sexual relationships, reduce the level of teenage pregnancies and prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections. The lessons learned will be applied across Scotland.

  In April 2000 a grant of £150,000 was made to Brook in Scotland (subsequently renamed Caledonia Youth) for start-up costs for four new drop-in centres in Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and Falkirk. The Executive is also committed to a substantial contribution to running costs. The centre, in Glasgow, was opened by in May 2002 and will be accessible by young people from Renfrewshire.

  The Scottish Executive has announced its plans to develop a national sexual health strategy for Scotland. One of the strategy’s main aims is to tackle the high level of unwanted teenage pregnancies in Scotland. An expert group has been established to assist in the development of the strategy, by harnessing the expertise of respected practitioners at both local and national level.

  (c) On suicides:

  On 2 December 2002, the Scottish Executive published a National Strategy and Action Plan to Prevent Suicide in Scotland, which highlights risk factors related to suicide, identifies priority groups (including young people) and sets out appropriate actions at both national and local levels.

Children and Young People

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of young people have (a) been smokers between the ages of 12 and 15 years, (b) fallen pregnant between the ages of 13 and 15 years and (c) committed suicide in (i) Scotland and (ii) the Renfrewshire Council area in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Chisholm: (a) Information on the percentage of young people who have been smokers between the ages of 12 and 15 years in Renfrewshire Council area is not held centrally. Information for Scotland for 1998 and 2000 on the percentage of pupils aged 12-15 years who are or have been smokers is shown in the following table. Information for 1999 and 2001 is not available.

  Percentage of Pupils Aged 12-15 Years Who Are or Have Been Smokers

  

 

1998 
  

2000 
  



Scotland 
  

32 
  

26 
  



  (b) All teenage pregnancy statistics, broken down by both NHS board and council area, are available on the website at:

  http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/publications/publications.htm.

  The percentage of young people who have become pregnant between the ages of 13 and 15 years old for Scotland and Renfrewshire council area is shown in the following table:

  Percentage of Females Aged 13 to 15 Becoming Pregnant

  


Year ending 31 December 
  


 

Scotland 
  

Renfrewshire 
  



1997 
  

0.9 
  

0.9 
  



1998 
  

0.9 
  

0.8 
  



1999 
  

0.8 
  

1.1 
  



2000P


0.8 
  

0.8 
  



2001P


0.7 
  

0.7 
  



  PInformation for 2000 and 2001 is provisional because North Glasgow University Hospitals Trust data are not yet available.

  (c) There are so few suicides in this age group that the figures expressed as a percentage are very small. The figures in the following tables, obtained from the Registrar General for Scotland, are given as rates per 1,000 of young people in the age group:

  Suicide and Undetermined Death Rates in Young People Between 12 and 15

  Renfrewshire

  

 

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  



Suicide 
  

- 
  

- 
  

0.11 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Undetermined 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Total 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



  Suicide and Undetermined Death Rates in Young People Between 12 and 15

  Scotland

  

 

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  



Suicide 
  

- 
  

0.02 
  

0.01 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Undetermined 
  

0.02 
  

0.01 
  

0.01 
  

0.02 
  

- 
  



Total 
  

0.02 
  

0.03 
  

0.02 
  

0.02 
  

-

Dental Health

Elaine Thomson (Aberdeen North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in ensuring access to NHS dentistry services.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Whilst acknowledging that there are problems of access to NHS dentistry in some parts of Scotland, the Executive has in place a number of measures aimed at increasing the numbers of dentists providing NHS treatment. These include:

  the availability of grants under the Scottish Dental Access Initiative to dentists willing to set up or expand NHS practices in areas of poor access or high oral health need.

  a "golden hello" package of financial measures to help recruit and retain dentists within NHS general dental services.

  £3 million in the current financial year for dental practice improvements.

  We are currently working with the dental profession on a further phase of recruitment and retention measures.

  In addition, where an NHS board or Primary Care NHS Trust considers that the existing general dental service provision is insufficient to meet the demands of the local population, and no independent general dental practitioner is available to fill the gap, approval can be sought from Scottish ministers to appoint a salaried dentist. A number such posts have been approved and established.

Domestic Abuse

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has conducted into domestic abuse of young people with learning disabilities.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive has not commissioned any research into domestic abuse of young people with learning disabilities.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what response it is making in respect of the proportion of S2 pupils that did not meet the required grades in reading, writing and mathematics.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is continuing the drive to raise standards through National Priority targets set at both local authority and school level and by streamlining the assessment of individual pupils through the Assessment Development Programme.

Education

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is now provision of foreign language instruction in every primary school.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive currently do not have this information, however we are about to ask local authorities to provide details of their language learning provision, including coverage in all primary schools. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education is also gathering more detailed information about provision at school level.

Education

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of 16- to 19-year-olds have not been in education, training or employment in the Renfrewshire Council area in each year since 1996.

Iain Gray: This data is unavailable at regional level. At Scotland level, the percentage of 16- to 19-year-olds not in education, training or employment is 14%. However, this data should be available at local authority level from the boosted annual 2003 Labour Force Survey from which data will be analysed in autumn 2004.

Employment

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Executive has made of the implications for the temporary jobs market of EU legislation to give temporary workers the same employment rights as permanent employees.

Mr Jack McConnell: We are in regular contact with the DTI on a wide range of issues including the European Commission’s proposals for a new Directive.

Employment

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take to support the Shetland economy in the light of job losses at the Sullom Voe terminal.

Iain Gray: Our immediate priority is to provide support and assistance for those facing redundancy. This will be provided through the Executive’s PACE (Partnership Action for Continuing Employment) framework. The type of support will be tailored to meet individual needs and local circumstances. This will include Jobcentre Plus services, one-to-one counselling, comprehensive information packs and access to high quality training.

  Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Shetland Enterprise are working within our framework strategy, A Smart, Successful Scotland to help develop a strong, diverse and sustainable economy in Shetland.

Employment

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce the number of 16- to 19-year-olds that are not in education, training, or employment in the Renfrewshire Council area.

Iain Gray: A number of initiatives are under way, including:

  Careers Scotland Inclusiveness projects

  Pre-vocational programmes

  Work Enablers

  Get Ready for Work

  New Deal for Young People

  New Futures Fund projects

  The Renfrewshire Inclusiveness project, Positive Futures, aims to develop a strategic approach to improving outcomes for a range of young people 16 to 24 with additional support needs. Central to the project is the development of dedicated key-worker support with a strong commitment to the assessment of needs, tracking and sustainability.

Employment

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce the proportion of unemployed working age people in the Renfrewshire Council area.

Iain Gray: Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing Scottish organisations.

  The whole range of New Deal programmes are available to all unemployed working age people in the Renfrewshire Council area who meet the qualification criteria.

  Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire also offer a variety of training opportunities as part of the Training for Work (TfW) programme. TfW is available on a voluntary basis to those aged 25 and over who have been unemployed for six months or more. It offers short sharp courses relevant to the demands of local employers with the aim of progressing people into sustainable employment, as well as longer courses that can take up to a year. Four hundred and fifty people in Renfrewshire are currently participating in TfW and over 180 former participants have moved into work since April this year.

  In addition, there are some New Futures Fund projects available in the Renfrewshire Council area.

Finance

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Executive will submit a backdated application to the European Commission for Objective 1 status for the Highlands and Islands in the light of any errors made by the Office for National Statistics in compiling GDP figures.

Mr Jack McConnell: We will fight to secure the best deal for the Highlands and Islands. The deal struck by Tony Blair in Berlin in 1999 means that the Highlands and Islands has not lost out as it secured a comparable amount of funding. If the statistics show that full status would have been more appropriate, we will raise that context well in advance of the next negotiations.

Flooding

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Association of British Insurers regarding householders and businesses that suffered from flood damage in Moray during the period 15 to 18 November 2002 to ensure that full payments are made and prevent any excessive increases in their insurance premiums.

Allan Wilson: Although we have regular meetings with the Association of British Insurers we have not made any formal representation to them since the floods of 15 to 18 November.

  Recent guidance from the Association of British Insurers is that the industry will look to continue to provide insurance cover in areas with defences are in place or where these are planned to be in place by 2007.

Flooding

Mr Tom McCabe (Hamilton South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it will offer to Glasgow City Council to ensure it considers a whole catchment approach, which takes account of effects on neighbouring authorities, when identifying the available options to reduce flood risk in Glasgow.

Allan Wilson: The Executive recognises the importance of taking a catchment wide approach to addressing flood risk in Glasgow. I am making available an additional capital consent of £1 million to Glasgow City Council which will allow them to take a catchment wide approach in developing sustainable solutions to reduce flood risk in Glasgow.

Forensic Science

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31361 by Mr Jim Wallace on 18 November 2002, what the remit is of the project team conducting the review of common police services in relation to forensic science services.

Mr Jim Wallace: A final remit has still to be agreed. This will be informed by a scoping study of the provision of forensic science services in Scotland which is currently being undertaken.

Fostering

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a child may be fostered by a blood relative; if so, whether the relative is entitled to receive remuneration in respect of such fostering; what information it has received about any local authorities refusing to remunerate such relatives as foster parents, and what action it will take in respect of this matter.

Cathy Jamieson: There are different circumstances in which relatives can be assessed and approved as foster carers. The Fostering Children (Scotland) Regulations 1996 and the accompanying guidance make clear that it is for local authorities to decide their own types and scales of payment to foster carers, depending on local child care needs and circumstances. We do not hold information on remuneration levels centrally.

Glasgow Harbour

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent social inclusion is tied to the economic agenda for the regeneration of the River Clyde waterfront and the Glasgow Harbour development.

Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive recognises the importance of social inclusion for the sustainable regeneration of the Clyde Waterfront. The Clyde Waterfront Working Group focuses on social inclusion issues through its Community Regeneration Sub-Group. The Glasgow Harbour development will consider these issues as part of its proposed local labour agreement with Glasgow City Council.

Health

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to improve the health of families in Renfrewshire since 1997 by reducing the incidence of (a) smoking, (b) alcohol misuse, (c) poor diets and (d) mortality rates from coronary heart disease.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: (a) Following publication of the White Paper Smoking Kills in 1998 the Scottish Executive allocated £1 million pounds per year to health boards to provide smoking cessation support to priority groups, pregnant women who smoke, young people and people on low incomes. Additional Health Improvement Funding has also been available for smoking cessation services since 2001. The Argyll and Clyde NHS Board appointed a Tobacco Co-ordinator in February 2000, overseeing a range of cessation services. The total number of clients given support in Paisley over the past two years is 866. Total clients given support in West Renfrewshire and Renfrew is 396. It should be noted that these figures represent the number of people seen for support and not the number of referrals (which is higher).

  In addition Zyban has been available on prescription since June 2000 and nicotine replacement therapy since in April 2001.

  (b) The Executive's Plan for Action on alcohol problems, published in January, sets out a range of national and local measures to reduce alcohol-related harm in Scotland. The plan requires Alcohol Action Teams, including the team covering Renfrewshire, to assess needs in their areas and produce local prevention, education and support and treatment strategies to address these by April 2003.

  (c) There are several food initiatives operating in Renfrewshire which aim to provide access to good quality, low cost fruit and vegetables to the community. These include the Foxbar Healthy Eating Initiative, Fresh Loaf Project, Johnston West Food Co-op and the Renfrewshire Food Federation.

  (d) The Executive is investing £6 million in Have a Heart Paisley, one of the four national demonstration projects, to reduce the impact of coronary heart disease in the population of Paisley and so suggest action than can be implemented widely to deliver similar benefits throughout Scotland as a whole. The project is taking forward wide ranging activities in many different settings across Paisley, with a particular focus on reducing health inequalities.

Housing

Alex Johnstone (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to abolish council tenants’ right to buy their properties.

Ms Margaret Curran: We have no plans to abolish the right to buy.

Housing

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce the number of households and, in particular, households with children living in temporary accommodation in the Renfrewshire Council area since 1997.

Ms Margaret Curran: Renfrewshire Council was awarded £258,000 in 2000 to provide 18 housing units for temporary accommodation for small family groups or single parents to reduce the need to use inappropriate bed and breakfast accommodation to house homeless families.

  In carrying out an assessment of homelessness in Renfrewshire, and in the development of a homelessness strategy, the council will be considering whether there is a need for further temporary accommodation for families or other vulnerable groups. All councils are required to prepare homelessness strategies by March 2003.

Justice

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it is giving to amending the criminal law to permit criminal proceedings to be brought against persons previously acquitted of serious criminal charges where compelling new evidence has become available.

Mr Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27759 on 15 August 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at   http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Justice

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is marking the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Margaret Curran: The Executive is holding a debate this afternoon, to inform Parliament about progress made to date in tackling violence against women and the future development of the work. A news release was issued on 25 November in which I emphasised that the Executive is fully committed to continuing the work towards eradicating domestic abuse.

Local Government Finance

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what form of support is available to Renfrewshire Council for public private partnership projects.

Mr Andy Kerr: Renfrewshire Council is taking forward a schools Public Private Partnership (PPP) project. In terms of funding support for this project, the council was awarded £245,000 in February 2001 to assist them with the cost of early investigation and feasibility study of a possible future schools PPP development. In December 2001, the council submitted a Outline Business Case in line with Scottish Executive Enterprise Department Circular 8/2001, and in July 2002 they were made an indicative offer of revenue support, capped at £7.45 million per annum over 25 years. This represents some 80% of the capital cost elements in the project. This offer is conditional upon approval of a final business case when the procurement reaches financial close.

  In terms of other support, the Scottish Executive has taken steps to assist councils undertaking schools PPP projects to become "informed clients". This has taken the form of a series of three seminars on relevant issues, with more planned. Also, face to face training aimed at members of project teams will be rolled out in the New Year.

  In addition, the Executive has commissioned Partnerships UK to undertake a Key Stage Review of each of the schools PPP projects. This will occur at two stages within the project and is intended to assure both the education authority and the Scottish Executive that the project is sufficiently well prepared at each stage to proceed through the procurement. The "pre Invitation to Negotiate" review for Renfrewshire has already been completed and proved useful in support of the project.

Lone Parents

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it provides to single parents.

Ms Margaret Curran: In 2001, the Scottish Executive established a £1,000 child care grant for lone parents in higher education and over 1,600 lone parents have already accessed this grant.

  The Executive provides a range of services, such as Sure Start Scotland, that meet the needs of disadvantaged families, including those headed by lone parents.

NHS Staff

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many unfilled vacancies currently exist in the NHS, broken down by department and field of work; how long these vacancies have existed, and what action it intends to take to address unfilled vacancies.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Information on vacancies for consultant medical and dental staff, nursing and midwifery staff and professions allied to medicine (PAMs) staff can be found on ISD's website accessible from the following link:

  http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/NHSiS_resource/Workforce/workforce_statistics.htm.

  Table B16 shows Consultant Medical and Dental staff vacancies by specialty and length of vacancy.

  Tables E13 –E15 show nursing and midwifery staff vacancies by specialty and length of vacancy.

  Tables F9 – F11 show PAMs staff vacancies by profession and length of vacancy.

  The latest information on the number of unfilled vacancies in NHSScotland for staff grade medical and dental staff in all specialties is contained in the following table:

  Staff Grade Medical and Dental Vacancies Existing in NHSScotland at 30 September 2001 by Specialty

  








Headcount 
  

Percentage of Establishment 
  



Establishment 
  

Total vacancies 
  

Vacant less than 6 months 
  

Vacant 6 months or more 
  

Total vacancies 
  

Vacant less than 6 Months 
  

Vacant 6 months or more 
  



Scotland 
  

418 
  

28 
  

23 
  

5 
  

6.7 
  

5.5 
  

1.2 
  



Accident and Emergency Medicine 
  

33 
  

3 
  

2 
  

1 
  

9.1000004 
  

6.0999999 
  

3 
  



Anaesthetics 
  

54 
  

2 
  

1 
  

1 
  

3.7 
  

1.9 
  

1.9 
  



Clinical Laboratory Specialties 
  

10 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Blood Transfusion 
  

2 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Clinical Genetics 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Haematology 
  

5 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Histopathology 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Medical Microbiology and Virology 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Medical Specialties 
  

121 
  

7 
  

6 
  

1 
  

5.8000002 
  

5 
  

0.8 
  



Dermatology 
  

6 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



General Medicine (Group) 
  

54 
  

3 
  

2 
  

1 
  

5.5999999 
  

3.7 
  

1.9 
  



Genito-Urinary Medicine 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Geriatrics 
  

22 
  

2 
  

2 
  

 - 
  

9.1000004 
  

9.1000004 
  

 - 
  



Homeopathy 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Medical Oncology 
  

3 
  

1 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

33.299999 
  

33.299999 
  

 - 
  



Paediatrics 
  

25 
  

1 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

4 
  

4 
  

 - 
  



Neurology 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Palliative Medicine 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Clinical Oncology 
  

3 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Rehabilitation Medicine 
  

4 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Obstetrics and Gynaecology 
  

23 
  

1 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

4.3000002 
  

4.3000002 
  

 - 
  



Psychiatric Specialties 
  

73 
  

7 
  

7 
  

 - 
  

9.6000004 
  

9.6000004 
  

 - 
  



Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 
  

6 
  

1 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

16.700001 
  

16.700001 
  

 - 
  



General Psychiatry 
  

51 
  

5 
  

5 
  

 - 
  

9.8000002 
  

9.8000002 
  

 - 
  



Psychiatry of Learning Disability 
  

5 
  

1 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

20 
  

20 
  

 - 
  



Old Age Psychiatry 
  

9 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Psychotherapy 
  

2 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Radiology 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Clinical Radiology 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Surgical Specialties 
  

73 
  

3 
  

1 
  

2 
  

4.0999999 
  

1.4 
  

2.7 
  



Cardiothoracic Surgery 
  

2 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



ENT Surgery 
  

6 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



General Surgery 
  

28 
  

3 
  

1 
  

2 
  

10.7 
  

3.5999999 
  

7.0999999 
  



Neurosurgery 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Ophthalmology 
  

13 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery 
  

19 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Urology 
  

4 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Dental Specialties 
  

30 
  

5 
  

5 
  

 - 
  

16.7 
  

16.7 
  

 - 
  



Oral Medicine 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Oral Surgery 
  

12 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Orthodontics 
  

5 
  

1 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

20 
  

20 
  

 - 
  



Paediatric Dentistry 
  

4 
  

1 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

25 
  

25 
  

 - 
  



Restorative Dentistry 
  

5 
  

1 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

20 
  

20 
  

 - 
  



Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  



Surgical Dentistry 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

100 
  

100 
  

 - 
  



Community Dental Specialties 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

 - 
  

100 
  

100 
  

 - 
  



  We have recently launched Working for Health, the Workforce Development Action Plan for NHSScotland, which has set a critical path for creating a robust development function integrating workforce planning and service planning across all services in NHSScotland.

  Implementation of the action plan will be taken forward by a National Workforce Committee supported by a National Workforce Unit in Scottish Executive Health Department. The National Workforce Committee (NWC) will set strategic direction and monitor progress for workforce development. The membership of the committee is currently being finalised and the group should meet before the end of the year. In addition to the NWC, a Short Life Working Group will be set up in order to find solutions to the most pressing workforce challenges.

NHS Waiting Times

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to achieve targets to shorten (a) treatment times and (b) waiting times in the Argyll and Clyde NHS Board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: While it is for NHS boards and trusts to effectively manage local services, the Scottish Executive remains committed to putting the policy frameworks in place and providing the resources to ensure that waiting times are kept to a minimum at each stage of the patient’s journey.

  The National Waiting Times Unit is working with NHSScotland to reduce delays for patients. Since April this year, the unit has funded approximately 50 initiatives across in-patient, out-patient and day case activity to support the drive towards achieving local out-patient and national in-patient/day case targets. To date, the unit has allocated £459,000 to NHS Argyll and Clyde with further funding to be agreed. This initial allocation has facilitated the transfer of 154 patients to the National Waiting Times Centre for cardiology and orthopaedics treatment; the transfer of 72 patients to the private sector for general surgery and ENT treatment, and the recruitment of an orthopaedics consultant who will perform an additional 100 elective operations a year. There are also currently 29 One-Stop Clinics operated by NHS Argyll and Clyde providing services for patients for a wide range of conditions including diabetes, breast cancer and chest pain.

New Deal

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the 42,000 young people in Scotland that have gone into jobs from the New Deal were from Renfrewshire.

Iain Gray: Up to the end of June 2002, 2,800 of the 44,300 young people who had gone into jobs from the New Deal for Young People in Scotland, were from Renfrewshire. This represents 6.3% of the Scottish total.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30375 by Mr Jim Wallace on 31 October 2002, when it expects the modelling of the detailed effect on the supply of prisoner places of its decisions in relation to new prisons and investment in existing prisons to be complete and whether it will publish the results of the modelling.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Capacity modelling is continually updated to support operational decisions and advice to ministers. Scenarios and projections based on such modelling are not routinely published, since they fall within the category of information identified by the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information whose disclosure "would harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion". The SPS does, however, publish information based on capacity modelling to support consultations and announcements on key decisions affecting the supply of prisoner places, as for example was included in the Scottish Prison Service Estates Review published earlier this year.

Road Accidents

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many child (a) fatalities and (b) accidents while travelling to and from school there have been in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority area.

Lewis Macdonald: Data about injury road accidents are collected by the police and reported to the Scottish Executive using the STATS 19 statistical report form. These returns cover only accidents in which one or more people were injured: they do not cover "damage only" accidents.

  The following tables give the information which is available. The figures relate only to school pupils aged four to 16 inclusive because casualties who were school pupils on a journey to or from school are identified as such in the STATS 19 returns only if they are aged up to and including 16 years of age.

  It should be noted that the statistics given in the following tables are based upon the data which are held in the central statistical database, which are collected by the police at the time of the accident and subsequently reported to the Executive. They may differ from the figures which the local authorities might provide, because they do not take account of any subsequent changes or corrections that the local authorities may have made to their copies of the statistical information, for use at local level, based upon their knowledge of what happened in the accidents which occurred in their areas.

  In the tables all figures for 2001 are provisional.

  School Pupil Fatalities (Aged 4 to 16 Inclusive) While Travelling to or From School, by Local Authority

  

 

1992 
  

1993 
  

1994 
  

1995 
  

1996 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

1 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  



Angus 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

* 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Dundee City 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

* 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



East Lothian 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Edinburgh, City of 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

* 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Falkirk 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Fife 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Glasgow City 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Highland 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

2 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Inverclyde 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Midlothian 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

* 
  



Moray 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

2 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

* 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  



Stirling 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



West Lothian 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

* 
  



Scotland 
  

3 
  

2 
  

4 
  

3 
  

2 
  

1 
  

6 
  

4 
  

4 
  

* 
  



  Note:

  *The figures for 2001 for these areas are not yet available.

  Accidents Involving at Least One School Pupil Casualty (Aged 4 to 16 Inclusive) Who Was Travelling to or From School, by Local Authority

  

 

1992 
  

1993 
  

1994 
  

1995 
  

1996 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

34 
  

19 
  

31 
  

22 
  

22 
  

24 
  

23 
  

15 
  

12 
  

7 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

28 
  

24 
  

18 
  

12 
  

11 
  

15 
  

20 
  

18 
  

10 
  

12 
  



Angus 
  

19 
  

12 
  

16 
  

18 
  

8 
  

11 
  

11 
  

14 
  

15 
  

* 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

8 
  

6 
  

12 
  

14 
  

9 
  

11 
  

8 
  

7 
  

4 
  

7 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

5 
  

5 
  

7 
  

2 
  

7 
  

6 
  

6 
  

7 
  

2 
  

3 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

8 
  

14 
  

8 
  

6 
  

17 
  

4 
  

8 
  

12 
  

11 
  

11 
  



Dundee City 
  

23 
  

17 
  

34 
  

21 
  

37 
  

28 
  

23 
  

29 
  

25 
  

* 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

16 
  

15 
  

13 
  

13 
  

15 
  

10 
  

15 
  

13 
  

11 
  

10 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

6 
  

9 
  

12 
  

12 
  

8 
  

8 
  

14 
  

9 
  

9 
  

16 
  



East Lothian 
  

3 
  

8 
  

11 
  

7 
  

8 
  

8 
  

8 
  

7 
  

15 
  

* 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

4 
  

7 
  

13 
  

9 
  

3 
  

12 
  

10 
  

11 
  

10 
  

8 
  



Edinburgh, City of 
  

48 
  

46 
  

32 
  

39 
  

51 
  

48 
  

45 
  

55 
  

69 
  

* 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

5 
  

2 
  

11 
  

3 
  

3 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Falkirk 
  

23 
  

10 
  

18 
  

17 
  

13 
  

18 
  

12 
  

11 
  

10 
  

10 
  



Fife 
  

26 
  

26 
  

26 
  

37 
  

26 
  

34 
  

37 
  

29 
  

28 
  

29 
  



Glasgow City 
  

105 
  

102 
  

113 
  

85 
  

88 
  

86 
  

88 
  

84 
  

102 
  

101 
  



Highland 
  

25 
  

28 
  

66 
  

57 
  

22 
  

9 
  

9 
  

17 
  

13 
  

10 
  



Inverclyde 
  

23 
  

16 
  

22 
  

13 
  

21 
  

17 
  

15 
  

14 
  

21 
  

8 
  



Midlothian 
  

7 
  

5 
  

7 
  

8 
  

5 
  

5 
  

3 
  

10 
  

9 
  

* 
  



Moray 
  

15 
  

6 
  

8 
  

8 
  

7 
  

3 
  

1 
  

5 
  

3 
  

7 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

27 
  

13 
  

22 
  

19 
  

12 
  

10 
  

11 
  

12 
  

11 
  

16 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

43 
  

51 
  

42 
  

44 
  

42 
  

38 
  

49 
  

39 
  

30 
  

49 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

0 
  

1 
  

2 
  

4 
  

3 
  

1 
  

2 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

10 
  

14 
  

20 
  

12 
  

15 
  

4 
  

8 
  

17 
  

15 
  

* 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

18 
  

17 
  

19 
  

22 
  

22 
  

25 
  

18 
  

26 
  

21 
  

22 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

17 
  

8 
  

12 
  

8 
  

9 
  

7 
  

5 
  

14 
  

11 
  

* 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

1 
  

0 
  

4 
  

2 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

14 
  

4 
  

17 
  

10 
  

8 
  

8 
  

10 
  

6 
  

14 
  

8 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

46 
  

52 
  

44 
  

39 
  

44 
  

35 
  

34 
  

36 
  

39 
  

40 
  



Stirling 
  

5 
  

8 
  

10 
  

10 
  

7 
  

14 
  

4 
  

7 
  

7 
  

5 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

18 
  

12 
  

17 
  

16 
  

10 
  

15 
  

19 
  

20 
  

23 
  

15 
  



West Lothian 
  

16 
  

15 
  

12 
  

18 
  

13 
  

13 
  

7 
  

14 
  

20 
  

* 
  



Scotland 
  

646 
  

572 
  

699 
  

607 
  

567 
  

527 
  

524 
  

559 
  

571 
  

* 
  



  Note:

  *The figures for 2001 for these areas are not yet available.

Scottish Enterprise

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the spin out companies supported by Scottish Enterprise in the last five years have been opened in Renfrewshire.

Iain Gray: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.

Social Justice

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional statutory and non-statutory support it intends to put in place to assist vulnerable families.

Cathy Jamieson: We will continue to work with statutory and non-statutory agencies to expand and improve support to vulnerable families. We are providing enhanced resources to back this. For example, we will be providing an additional £31 million for Sure Start Scotland by 2006 (which provides a range of support to vulnerable and deprived families with very young children). And we are increasing resources for child care - by £23.9 million in 2006 - and to back change and improvement in the planning and delivery of children’s services - by £32.5 million in 2006.

St Andrew's Day

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to celebrate St Andrew’s Day.

Mr Jim Wallace: The First Minister has jointly issued with the Secretary of State for Scotland a St Andrew’s Day message to the worldwide UK Embassy network. This message will be read out at St Andrew’s Day events across the globe and sends warmest wishes from the people of Scotland to those Scots gathered to celebrate the achievements of their country of birth and their forefathers.

Traffic

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish its assessment of traffic levels on the A9 trunk road between Perth and Inverness in each of the last five years.

Lewis Macdonald: The annual average daily flows at various locations along the A9 between Perth and Inverness are assessed as follows:

  


Location 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  

2002 
  



A9 Tomatin 
  

7,077 
  

7,494 
  

7,224 
  

7,147 
  

6,837 
  

8,082 
  



A9 Kerrow (A86) to Lynwilg (B9152) 
  
 
 
 
 

7,488 
  

8,147 
  



A9 Calvine to Dalwhinnie(A889) 
  
 
 

8,180 
  
 

7,986 
  

8,136 
  



A9 S of B847 - at Shierglas 
  
 
 
 
 

7,437 
  

7,947 
  



A9 Pitlochry Bypass - S of A924 
  

7,168 
  
 
 
 

8,453 
  

8,697 
  



A9 Birnam 
  

10,509 
  

11,592 
  

11,352 
  

10,853 
  

11,034 
  

12,609 
  



A9 N of B8063 - at Luncarty 
  
 
 
 

13,821 
  

13,991 
  

15,359 
  



  Figures are shown in each case where data is available for the relevant area.

Traffic

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of traffic it considers is required before a trunk road, such as the A9, should be upgraded to dual carriageway status.

Lewis Macdonald: Decisions on choice of carriageway standard are based on the combined results of economic, operational and environmental assessments. A modern single carriageway such as sections of the A9 between Perth and Inverness can carry an average annual daily flow of 22,000 vehicles. Where additional overtaking opportunities are considered necessary, widening by providing climbing lanes or wide-single carriageway is assessed. A wide-single carriageway can carry an average annual daily flow of 32,000 vehicles. Dual carriageway is considered where the additional benefits that further upgrading would create exceed the additional costs that would be incurred.

Victim Support

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to monitor the effectiveness of victim information and advice services.

Mr Jim Wallace: An evaluation of the Crown Office Victim Information and Advice Service is under way and it is anticipated that the results will be published early in 2003.

Voluntary Sector

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will extend to other funding schemes the condition in the Changing Children's Services programme that consolidated proposals for funding should be approved by the relevant council or councils for voluntary service.

Ms Margaret Curran: Grant conditions vary according to funding scheme but where there is a clear role for councils for voluntary service their views are sought.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliamentary Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer what the cost has been to date of the Holyrood Progress Group newsletters.

Sir David Steel: The cost to date of the Holyrood Progress Group’s 11 newsletters is £8469.14 excluding VAT.

Correction

The reply to question S1W-31228, which was originally answered on 14 November 2002, has been corrected: see page 2361.